Should We Take 'Michele Bachmann 2012' Seriously?

We're almost an entire week into the year before the year of a
presidential election, only 22 short months away, which means it's time
for Washington's favorite game: speculating about presidential
campaigns. Often the way it begins is that a would-be candidate has a
staffer anonymously tell a reporter about the potential run. The
reporter then writes it up, dozens of other reporters and bloggers jump
on the story, and the possible candidate evaluates the reaction to the
story as a way to gauge whether he or she should run.

That's what looked
to be happening this morning with ABC News' story
citing a lone, anonymous source as saying Rep. Michele Bachmann might
run for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination. Bachmann's office responded by refusing to deny the rumor, both to ABC and other publications. How
seriously should we take a possible Bachmann campaign or even a Bachman presidency? Read the
blog scrum and decide for yourself.

Darling of the Tea Party Right "Bachmann," The Atlantic's Garance Franke-Ruta writes,
"is the founder of the House Tea Party Caucus, which she
chairs, and was a leading opponent of President Obama's health-care
overhaul, which she protested at rallies in Washington and St. Paul. Her
outspoken manner and slick personal style have made her an icon on the
right and especially among its new generation of conservative women, but
also a figure of fun and derision on the left."

Not As Crazy As It Might Sound Salon's Steve Kornacki
doesn't think she'll win, but concedes that "Bachmann's apparent interest
isn't that surprising in light of the Tea Party-fueled upheaval we saw
in multiple Republican primaries last year. ... Add in the seeming weakness
of the '12 GOP field, Bachmann's built-in national fundraising network,
her Iowa roots, and the narrowness of the Iowa caucus electorate (and
the fact that it may only take 30 percent to win), and it sort of makes
sense that she'd think about taking a shot, doesn't it?"

Wouldn't Be 'Serious Candidate' Outside the Beltway's Doug Mataconis shrugs,
saying she "would be, at best, a gadfly who got press attention for her
outrageous statements. Good for entertainment value, not a serious
candidate."

GOP Unlikely to Support Bachmann Bid "Shortly after the midterm elections, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.)
launched a campaign to become the new House Republican Conference Chair," The Washington Monthly's Steve Benen recalls. "GOP leaders, who tend to find Bachmann rather embarrassing, quietly
crushed her bid, and ensured she wouldn't join the congressional
leadership. One wonders, then, how they'd feel about a much bigger
promotion for the deranged Minnesota Republican."

If Sincere, Bad News for Palin 2012 "This would seem to be a serious change of pace from Bachmann's
previous ties to Sarah Palin," Talking Points Memo's Eric Kleefeld points out, "who campaigned with her at a high-profile
rally this past April. Indeed, the event seemed something like a sneak
preview of a Palin-Bachmann ticket. Really, if both Palin and Bachmann
ran, it would seem like they would be fishing from the same pool of
voters." Kleefeld wonders if this might "be a sign that maybe
Palin might not run after all, and a similar politician is looking at
just such a contingency."

'Conservatives 4 Palin' Not Enthusiastic The blog's Ian Lazaran writes,
"I think most of us like Michele Bachmann a lot but it's tough to see a
good reason for why she would run for the presidency. The only thing
her candidacy would accomplish would be potentially splitting votes with
Governor Palin and it’s extremely doubtful that she would be able to
take enough votes for it to make a difference."

Reminder: She Says Batty Stuff
New York Magazine's Dan Amira runs down the highlights:

You may know
her as the woman who warned that filling out the Census could get you thrown in an internment camp, or who claimed that homosexuality is a 'dysfunction' and that gay people are 'specifically targeting our children,' or who accused President Obama of turning America into a 'nation of slaves,' or who called on the media to investigate which congressmen were 'anti-America.' Not surprisingly, given the aforementioned career highlights, she's also a revered figure among tea partiers.